May the mumbling commence!
Where is wisdom found? Wisdom comes only through the Lord. And the Lord’s wisdom is best ascertained in
fellowship with fellow believers. Read
and learn from Daniel chapter two:
The king replied, "I can see through your trick! You are trying to stall
for time because you know I am serious
about what I said. If you don't tell me
the dream, you will be condemned.
You have conspired to tell me lies
in hopes that something will change. But tell me the dream, and then I will know
that you can tell me what it means."
The astrologers replied to the king, "There isn't a man alive who can tell
Your Majesty his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked
such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! This is an impossible thing the king requires. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not
live among people."
The king was furious when he heard this, and he sent out
orders to execute all the wise men of Babylon.
And because of the king's decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel
and his friends. When Arioch, the
commander of the king's guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. He asked Arioch, "Why has the king
issued such a harsh decree?" So Arioch told him all that had
happened. Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time so he could tell
the king what the dream meant.
Then Daniel went
home and told his friends Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He
urged them to ask the God of heaven to
show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be
executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. That
night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. (Verses 8-19a)
What a pickle! The king wanted his dream interpreted… that
was nothing unusual. Yet, he wanted
someone else to tell him what his dream was… only then would the king trust the
interpretation.
Only the gods could do that! The astrologers were right about that. And they despaired because they did not
believe that a god lived among them.
Daniel also knew that only God
could tell the king his dream and interpret it.
But Daniel knew a living God who would… given time. So, Daniel pleaded for time.
He used that time to gather with
his closest brothers in faith. And they
prayed all night. And the answer was
given to Daniel in the watches of the night through a vision.
Wisdom comes from the Lord. Discerning that wisdom takes time and
spiritual companions. Daniel knew and
lived these truths in the worst of circumstances. And God blessed Daniel with what he
needed. And many lives were saved
through Daniel’s service to the king.
Yes, service is also a key to wisdom.
Look at how Jesus served his disciples in John chapter thirteen:
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour
had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. It was time for supper, and the Devil had
already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray
Jesus. Jesus knew
that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had
come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his
robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he
began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around
him.
When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, why
are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will."
(Verses 1-7)
Jesus came to serve. Someday we will understand. We are still trying to fully comprehend what
servant leadership is… what it means for our relationships with one another and
with our Lord.
God, we gather together to search
out Your wisdom. Help us, we pray.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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